Cotton-cleaner and boll-huller.



No. 66!,949. Patentd Nov. 20, I900.

R. n. BOYD. COTTON CLEANER AND BULL HUL LER.

(Application fllell Apr.-7, 1898. Renewed Mar. 2, 1900.)

(No Model.)

llNrTEn "ATENT OFFICE.

COTTON-CLEANER AND BOLL-HULLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 661,949, dated November 20, 1900.

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT R. BOYD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Cleaners and Boll- Hullers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,'such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in cotton-cleaners and boll-hullers whereby the cotton as it is gathered is cleaned and separated from the hulls and trash and prepared for sacking or for ginning by one machine and in one operation.

The object of my invention is to provide a cheap, compact, and easily-operated machine for separating cotton from the hulls and trash; and with this object in view my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of my complete machine, and Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view showing how the clearers are placed in the casing.

A represents a fan which draws a current of air through the entire machine and,through the pipes X X, discharges the refuse consisting of boll-hulls, trash, &c., into any desired receptacleas, for instance, the furnace of a boiler. It is obvious that either a blast or a suction fan may be used.

B represents the hopper of the machine, which delivers into an air-tight receptacle which is connected by the tubes Y and D with the fan. The hopper B delivers into the airtight casing V, to which the tube Y is connected, which casing delivers into the casing J, which surrounds the cylinder which gathers the cotton. These two casings form really one complete casing with inlets and outlets.

The cotton as it comes from the field is delivered by any suitable conveyer to the hopper B. Directly beneath the hopper is the disintegrator T, which breaks up the bollhulls and loosens the trash. On one side of this disintegrator and in close proximity to it is the curved screen T, on which are mounted teeth which cooperate with the teeth on the Application filed April '7, 1898. Renewed March 2, 1900. Serial No. 7,127. (No model.)

disintegrator. Through this screen, by the action of the fan, dust and small particles of trash are drawn down through the tube Y. Below the disintegrator in the casing V is the air-tight pocketed valve V, which by its revolution delivers the cotton to be separated from the trash and hulls to the revolving cylinder F. This is a large cylinder provided with card-clothing on its outside and mounted on supporting-arms 10. The casing J closely surrounds the cylinder F, leaving a narrow passage through which the cotton, &c. travel.

In oifsets in the casing J are mounted three clearers G E E, which, however, may be omitted, if desired. Each of these consists, as shown in Fig. 2, of a central hub with curved teeth thereon. The function of these clearers is tocollect any foreign fibrous substances, should any be present, to break up and scatter the boll-hulls, and to direct the cotton against the cylinder F. These clearers are mounted on offsets b of the casing, hinged thereto at h and provided with fasteningscrews h. By loosening the screws h and swinging back the parts I) the clearers can be readily taken out for the purpose of cleaning and others substituted. 7

S and g designate deflectors pivoted in the casing J and adjustable with relation'to the cylinder F. These deflectors are inclined in opposite directions, and some of them serve to keep the cotton close against the cylinder, while others serve to prevent the cotton from hugging the cylinder too closely at all times. Stops may be placed within the casing to prevent the deflectors from striking the teeth on the cylinder E. On one side of the cylinder is a brush H, which serves to strip the cotton from the card-clothin g. The cotton then falls upon the air-tight pocketed valve K to the endless conveyer R, which carries it off to be bagged or to the gin. This apron It may have a string-picker R over it, which removes the strings if the machine is used on cotton-waste delivered from the separating-screen of an oil-mill, for which use it is also adapted. Just below the brush H the casing is extended upwardly into close proximity to the teeth of the cylinder-in fact, so as to barely miss them. This is to prevent any of the air which enters at the opening W from passing around the cylinder in the direction of its rotation and to force the air to travel in a direction contrary to the direction of rotation of the cylinder. Near the top of the cylinder is an opening W, just behind the first clearer G, through which air is supplied to the interior of the casing J. Near the lower part of the cylinder is a pipe N, which connects the easing J with the vacuum-box I, which box is in turn connected with the pipe D, and the pipe Y enters the pipe D at the point M. In the vacuum-box I is an air-tight pocketed valve L, and a curved screen 0 is placed on one disintegrator T and the boll-hulls broken up. I The dust and small particles are drawn 1 through the screen T by the fan A and forced The cotton is then out through the pipe X. delivered by the valve'V upon the cylinder F, which revolves in the direction of the ar- The rapid rotation of this cylinder, which is covered with card-clothing, together with the movement of the clearers G E E and the adjustable deflectors S and g in opposition to the air blast or suction, separates the I cotton from the hulls and other foreign substances. The cotton, with its seed, is taken from the cylinder by the brush F, while the hulls and trash pass down through the pipe N into the vacuum-chamber I. The dust and small particles pass through the screen 0,

while the rest of the refuse is delivered by the:

valve L out through the pipe L into the'hopper fand thence into the pipe X. Any suitable means may be used for operating the disintegrator, the valves, the cleaners, the brush, the conveyor, and the fan; but as these means form no part of my invention they have not been shown.

As important features of my invention it may be mentioned that the air-current should be taken in through the opening W behind the rear cleaner, while the feed is in front of the said cleaner, which prevents any bollhulls from going through with the cotton and causes the air-current to be drawn half-way around the cylinder, which brings all the cotton in contact with the card-clothing. The result of this is that all the cotton is saved and cleaned on one single machine.

It is evident that many changes may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I wish it to be expressly understood that I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown and described.

Havingthus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. In a cotton cleaner and huller, the combination of a card-clothed cylinder, an air tight casing, provided with inlets and outlets, closely surrounding said cylinder, means for drawing a current of air through said casing and around said cylinder in a direction opposite to the rotation of said cylinder and means for preventing a current of air in the same direction as the rotation of the cylinder, substantially as described.

2. In a cotton cleaner and huller, the com bination of a cylinder provided on its surface with means for separating the cotton from the hulls and trash, an air-tight casing closely surrounding said cylinder and provided with inlets and outlets, an air-tight pocketed valve located in the inlet through which the material under treatment enters the casing, and means for drawing a current of air through said casing and around said cylinder in a direction opposite to the rotation of said cylin-' der, substantially as described.

3. In a cotton cleaner and huller, the combination of a card-clothed cylinder, a casing,

provided with two inlets and two outlets,

closely surrounding said cylinder, an air-tight pocketed valve located in the inlet through which the material under treatment enters said casing, a'brush for clearing the cotton from said cylinder and means for drawing a current of air through said casing and around said cylinder in a direction opposite to the rotation of said cylinder, substantially as described.

4. In a cotton cleaner and huller, the combination of a card-clothed cylinder, a casing surrounding said cylinder, provided with inlets and outlets, an air-tight pocketed valve located in one of said inlets, deflectors located just inside of said casing, a brush for removing the cotton from said cylinder and -means for drawing a current of air through said casing and around said cylinder in a direction opposite to the rotation of said cylinder, substantially as described.

5. In a cotton cleaner and huller, the combination of a card-clothed cylinder, a casing "provided with inlets and outlets, an air-tight pocketed valve located in one of the inlets, a similar valve in one of the outlets, a screen in proximity to the last-named valve, a brush, an exhaust-fan and a connection between said 'fan and said casing, substantiallyas described.

6. In a cotton cleaner and huller, the combination of .a card-clothed cylinder, a casing provided with inlets and outlets, a brush for removing the cotton from said cylinder, de-

flectors mounted inside the casing, clearers for said cylinder, an exhaust-fan, a pipecon- .necting said casing and fan, a screen in said pipe, an air-tight pocketed valve in proximity to said screen and an air-tight pocketed valve located in one of the inlets to said casing, substantially as described.

7. In a cotton cleaner and huller, the combination of an air-tight casing provided with inlets and outlets, air-tight pocketed valves,

inder, adjustable deflectors mounted in said casing, a brush for stripping the cotton from said cylinder, a pipe connected to the lower 15 part of said casing, and a fan, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT R. BOYD;

Witnessesi JOHN OHALMERs WILsoN, Jos. I-I. BLAOKWOOD. 

